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Detroit grocers who want to spruce up their storefronts are eligible to receive financial help from the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. and its Green Grocer Project façade improvement program.

The Green Grocer Project is accepting applications until July 16 for 50/50 matching grants up to $50,000. The program is designed to help neighborhood grocers enhance the exteriors and parking lots of their stores.

Mimi Pledl, program manager for the Green Grocer Project, said there are about 77 neighborhood grocers in Detroit.

“We found they [the grocers] were lacking resources for the exterior of their shops,” Pledl said. “But for the shoppers, that means the exteriors don’t communicate the inside of the store.”

The Green Grocer Project launched in 2010 as a support service for existing grocers and a way to recruit new grocers to the city.

Some of the eligible improvements for the program are architectural features, windows, exterior lighting, masonry, awning, signage and roof repairs. Code compliance repairs are also eligible, as long as they are outside the store. The Green Grocer Project will only match up to $20,000 for parking lot improvements. Grocers will be reimbursed only after the project is completed.

Participants will have to create their own contracts for landscape and construction; the DEGC will approve the contracts.

The Green Grocer Project has allocated $250,000 for the program. Winners will be chosen based on feasibility, impact and opportunity to leverage other investment. Pledl said the program could help between five and 25 participants. The board of directors for the Detroit Economic Growth Association will approve the final winners all at once, and the projects will begin shortly after.

“Independent grocers are anchors in this community, and this could make a huge difference for these stores,” Pledl said.